Technical article

France: The Heir Who Has Lived There Six of the Last Ten Years

The heir's years in France count, even when the donor never lived there.

By Neil Solomon · 3 min read

Picture a woman from Ohio who retires to France at 60. Her mother stays in Ohio and holds her assets through a family trust. Years later the trust passes to the daughter. She has been in France for eight years by then. Does France have a claim on something that began in Ohio?

The sources point to the six-in-ten rule. France taxes gifts and inheritances on worldwide assets in two cases. One is when the donor or the person who died lived in France. The other is when the person receiving has been a French resident for at least six of the last ten years. If neither applies, only assets located in France are taxed. French-located assets are taxed in every case.

So the donor's home does not decide it alone. The heir's years in France count, even when the donor never lived there.

What the rate looks like. For a child inheriting from a parent, the scale runs 5% to 45% after an allowance of EUR 100,000 (approximately US$110,000) per child per parent. The allowance for a grandchild is EUR 1,594 (approximately US$1,750) if the grandchild's own parent is alive. A spouse or civil-union partner is exempt.

Gifts follow the same scale. Debts on a gifted asset are not deducted.

What counts as living there. The domestic test looks at where the home or main place of stay is, where the main work is done, and where the centre of economic interests lies. The PwC summary names no day count.

Trust payments. When a trust pays a French resident, the sources describe distributions as foreign-source investment income, taxed at a flat 31.4% for amounts received since 1 January 2026. The person receiving is expected to show that an amount is capital and not income. Baker McKenzie reports a decision of the Conseil d'Etat on 13 March 2026 that supports this. A payment can also be treated as a gift, case by case. One unofficial guide says trust transfers may be taxed at 5% to 45% in the direct line and up to 60% in some cases. Two sources differ on the flat rate, with one older guide giving 30%. The newer figure from 2026 is 31.4%.

You might say: "I am an American, and the American trust is American." The sources show two things that may help. Foreign duties can be credited against French duty, and treaties can change the result. The United States and France have an estate and gift tax treaty. A PwC note also says American, German and Swedish citizens are exempt on non-French assets for five years. That note carries medium confidence, so it is worth reading the full text before relying on it.

You could ask yourself a few questions before a move. How many of the last ten years will I have lived in France by the time the trust pays? Who is the donor, and where do they live? Is the asset in France or elsewhere? The question touches the parent who set up the trust, the children who inherit, and the grandchildren, who have a much smaller allowance.

If you have lived in France and received from a trust, what did you wish you had known about the count of years? Share it here. Someone planning a move may find your answer useful.

Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Date read: October 2026.